Latest news with #patientaccess
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
2 Digital Healthcare Stocks Poised for a Breakout
Key Points Healthcare technology companies are transforming patient access and care delivery, creating massive addressable markets worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Digital-first platforms can scale rapidly without the infrastructure costs of traditional healthcare providers, enabling superior unit economics and profit margins. Regulatory challenges and competitive pressures create temporary volatility that often presents compelling entry points for long-term investors. 10 stocks we like better than Oscar Health › Wall Street loves to punish healthcare stocks for short-term stumbles while missing their revolutionary potential. The sector's reputation for regulatory complexity and unpredictable reimbursement changes has created a risk-averse investment environment that consistently undervalues companies building the future of American healthcare. This myopic view ignores a fundamental shift happening beneath the surface. Healthcare technology companies are dismantling decades-old barriers between patients and care, creating direct-pay models that bypass insurance bureaucracy entirely. While traditional healthcare stocks trade on Medicare Advantage enrollment growth and medical loss ratios (MLRs), these digital disruptors are building subscription-based businesses with software-like economics and massive total addressable markets. Two companies exemplify this transformation -- one sustaining strong profitability while navigating industry headwinds, the other riding explosive growth despite recent partnership drama. Both face meaningful risks that create entry opportunities for investors who understand the long-term digitization trends reshaping American healthcare. Oscar's profitable start meets cost pressures Oscar Health (NYSE: OSCR) built on its profitable start to 2025 with a strong first quarter, though emerging challenges in Q2 have tempered the momentum. The company reported $3 billion in revenue -- a 42% year-over-year increase -- and $275 million in net income, up from $177 million the previous year. This 55% profit growth underscores Oscar's scalable technology model, but investors should also consider recent indications of cost pressure and volatility. The company's MLR rose to 75.4% in the first quarter, still within industry norms but now expected to increase further, with full-year MLR guidance revised upward to 86% to 87% due to Q2 trends. This dramatic guidance revision signals significant cost headwinds that could pressure margins throughout the year. Oscar's differentiation lies in its digital-first infrastructure, built specifically for the digital age. Unlike legacy insurers, Oscar designed its operation around digital-first member engagement -- leveraging telemedicine, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered health assessments, and predictive analytics. This approach has enabled the company to serve approximately 2 million members while maintaining competitive administrative expense ratios. The +Oscar platform remains a compelling long-term opportunity, offering potential to license care navigation and engagement tools to third-party providers. While this strategy could create high-margin software revenue, monetization beyond internal use is still in early stages. Its success may prove essential as potential changes to Affordable Care Act subsidies introduce new uncertainties to the individual insurance market. Hims navigates explosive growth and regulatory crosswinds Hims & Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS) has delivered a dramatic performance through 2025, highlighting both the explosive potential and inherent risks of disruptive healthcare models. The stock reached an all-time high of $72.98 in February before encountering significant turbulence from regulatory scrutiny and partnership disputes. The company's underlying business growth remains exceptional despite headline challenges. First-quarter revenue surged 111% year over year to $586 million, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) nearly tripled to $91 million. More importantly, Hims & Hers expanded its subscriber base to 2.4 million customers -- a 38% increase -- with nearly 60% now using personalized treatment solutions that command premium pricing. However, the Novo Nordisk partnership termination in June caused a major decline in the stock. This dispute over Hims & Hers' continued sale of compounded weight-loss medications exposes the company's central vulnerability: regulatory dependence on legally gray areas of pharmaceutical compounding. Beyond weight management, Hims & Hers has systematically expanded into mental health, dermatology, and hormone replacement therapy -- with over 80% of 2024 revenue coming from non-GLP-1 sources. Each vertical leverages the company's direct-to-consumer infrastructure, creating cross-selling opportunities that increase customer lifetime value. Yet, this expansion strategy faces intensifying competition from well-funded digital health competitors and increasingly digital-savvy incumbents. Weighing the digital healthcare transformation The healthcare technology revolution creates compelling investment opportunities for investors who can tolerate regulatory uncertainty and competitive pressure in exchange for exposure to transformative business models. Oscar Health offers a mature, profitable approach to technology-enabled insurance with multiple avenues for margin expansion and revenue diversification. The company's established market position and strong balance sheet provide defensive characteristics, while its technology platform positions it to capture value from healthcare's digital transformation. Hims & Hers provides higher-risk, higher-reward exposure to the direct-pay healthcare revolution, where patients increasingly bypass insurance for convenient, affordable treatments. The company's ambitious 2030 targets of $6.5 billion in revenue and $1.3 billion in adjusted EBITDA reflect management's confidence in expanding beyond specialty medications into comprehensive primary care services. Should you buy stock in Oscar Health right now? Before you buy stock in Oscar Health, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Oscar Health wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $641,800!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,023,813!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,034% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 George Budwell has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hims & Hers Health. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 Digital Healthcare Stocks Poised for a Breakout was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pfizer (PFE) Expands Patient Access With Eliquis (Apixaban) Direct Purchase Program
Pfizer, in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb, has introduced a direct-to-patient option for Eliquis®, potentially enhancing patient access and affordability. Over the past quarter, Pfizer's share price saw an 11% increase. This move aligns with a broader market upswing, as major indexes achieved record highs. Noteworthy developments during this time included breakthroughs in clinical studies and strategic alliances, which potentially bolstered investor confidence. However, the company's performance remained in step with general market trends, suggesting these events merely reinforced broader investor optimism amid a rising market. We've spotted 3 possible red flags for Pfizer you should be aware of. Find companies with promising cash flow potential yet trading below their fair value. The recent collaboration between Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb to provide a direct-to-patient option for Eliquis® could influence Pfizer's revenue trajectory by potentially increasing patient access and affordability. Despite this, Pfizer's shares have seen a total return of 12.57% over the last year, underperforming compared to the US market's 12.4% gain, and considerably less so against the US Pharmaceuticals industry, which declined by 11% during the same period. This innovative approach might partially mitigate some revenue pressures by enhancing sales volumes of Eliquis®, yet the company's broader forecast remains uncertain given the expected 2.5% annual revenue decline over the next three years. The expanded reach of Eliquis® could offer some leeway in addressing revenue declines from key drugs like Vyndaqel and Paxlovid. However, earnings are still forecast to grow at 6.11% annually, slower than the expected US market growth of 14.8%. Pfizer's current share price of US$24.61 presents a discount of approximately 18.8% to the consensus analyst price target of US$29.23. The introduction of direct-to-patient options may contribute positively to sentiment, yet analyst consensus suggests that Pfizer is currently fairly priced, with limited upside potential. Investors might consider the slow expected earnings growth relative to market and industry trends when evaluating their positions in the portfolio. Explore Pfizer's analyst forecasts in our growth report. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include PFE. This article was originally published by Simply Wall St. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
National Post
10-06-2025
- Health
- National Post
CRH Medical Corporation and WovenX Announce Strategic Partnership to Advance GI Patient Access and Streamline Care Delivery
Article content Collaboration merges clinical and operational expertise with virtual-first innovation to eliminate barriers to GI care. Article content ATLANTA & CHICAGO — CRH Medical Corporation (' CRH '), a leading provider of products and services for gastrointestinal (GI) providers and a wholly owned subsidiary of WELL Health Technologies Corp. (' WELL '), has announced a strategic partnership with WovenX Health (' WovenX '), a leader in integrated virtual specialty care. Together, they aim to deliver integrated, next-generation GI practice solutions designed to resolve persistent challenges surrounding patient access and operational capacity. Article content Article content This collaboration merges CRH's clinically validated GI solutions with WovenX's advanced virtual visit platform to create a scalable framework that enhances operational performance, expands patient access, and elevates care delivery across the GI community. WovenX's on-demand service offering enables practices to increase appointment availability, unlocks underutilized capacity in high-value procedural areas, streamline workflows, and deliver timely, patient-centered care at the speed of need. Article content 'Partnering with WovenX Health lets GI practices deliver technology-enabled, guideline-based care in minutes rather than months,' said Russ Arjal MD, AGAF, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at WovenX . 'Patients consistently praise the experience, and our Net Promoter Score ranks among the highest in healthcare. This approach enables practices to unlock new growth opportunities and capture meaningful downstream revenue. We are excited to partner with CRH to deepen our impact and expand our presence within the GI community.' Article content Together, WovenX and CRH are addressing long-standing barriers to access and efficiency, offering providers a cohesive and consumer-centric model for GI care. Article content 'This partnership represents a strategic extension of the solutions we're already delivering to our GI physician customers, amplifying the value of our collaborative approach,' said Jay Kreger, CEO of CRH Medical Corporation. 'By combining CRH's GI expertise and network with WovenX's intelligent platform, we're equipping practices with the tools they need to improve patient access and outcomes, raise standards of care, and drive meaningful, long-term transformation in care delivery.' Article content About WELL Health Technologies Corp. Article content WELL's mission is to tech-enable healthcare providers. We do this by developing the best technologies, services, and support available, which ensures healthcare providers are empowered to positively impact patient outcomes. WELL's comprehensive healthcare and digital platform includes extensive front and back-office management software applications that help physicians run and secure their practices. WELL's solutions enable more than 42,000 healthcare providers between the US and Canada and power the largest owned and operated healthcare ecosystem in Canada with more than 210 clinics supporting primary care, specialized care, and diagnostic services. In the United States WELL's solutions are focused on specialized markets such as the gastrointestinal market, women's health, primary care, and mental health. WELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol 'WELL' and on the OTC Exchange under the symbol 'WHTCF'. To learn more about WELL, please visit: Article content CRH is a North American company focused on providing gastroenterologists with innovative services and products for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. CRH also provides locum tenens and permanent placement anesthesia staffing solutions to provider groups, hospitals, and ASCs. In 2014, CRH became a full-service gastroenterology anesthesia company that provides anesthesia services for patients undergoing endoscopic procedures in ambulatory surgical centers. To date, CRH has completed 50 acquisitions, and now serves over 140 ASCs in 20 states. In addition, CRH owns the 'CRH O'Regan System,' a single-use, disposable, hemorrhoid banding technology that is safe and highly effective in treating all grades of hemorrhoids. Learn more at Article content About WovenX Health Article content Article content Article content For more information: Article content Article content Jay Kreger Article content Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
AG pushes back on federal abortion medication restrictions
BOSTON (SHNS) – Attorney General Andrea Campbell implored federal regulators Thursday to eliminate medication abortion restrictions on prescribers and pharmacies, arguing Massachusetts already has 'robust' guardrails in place to protect patient safety. Campbell, along with AGs from California, New York and New Jersey, want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to eliminate its Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program for mifepristone — or at least stop applying certain parts of it to the four petitioning states. The program outlines certification requirements for health care providers and pharmacies to dispense mifepristone, plus paperwork that patients must sign. About 65% of abortions in Massachusetts in 2023 were medication abortions, according to the 64-page citizen petition Campbell co-filed Thursday. The FDA says REMS programs are used for drugs with 'serious safety concerns to help ensure the benefits of the medication outweigh its risks.' Campbell's office contends the mifepristone requirements impose 'burdensome restrictions on access to medication abortion while not meaningfully improving patient safety, and that these restrictions severely impede patient access by reducing the number of prescribers and pharmacies authorized to dispense this FDA-approved medication.' 'The Mifepristone REMS Program also imposes an undue burden on pregnant patients experiencing miscarriage and early pregnancy loss who seek treatment at emergency departments,' the petition says. 'For instance, the administrative requirements imposed by the REMS can effectively discourage emergency departments from carrying mifepristone in their pharmacies.' Reduced access to mifepristone can particularly impact patients in rural and medically underserved areas, the petition added. The Democratic AGs teamed up in response to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy recently instructing FDA Commissioner Martin Makary to pursue a 'complete review' of mifepristone and labeling requirements. The FDA is required to respond to their petition within 180 days by either approving, denying or dismissing it — or providing a 'tentative response' about why the agency is unable to reach a decision yet, according to federal regulations. In response to the Trump administration, Beacon Hill lawmakers are escalating their focus on shoring up protections for reproductive and transgender care. A Sen. Cindy Friedman bill (S 2522) that's gaining traction would tighten the 2022 abortion shield law, including by requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortion care and allowing provider practices, rather than specific prescriber names, to appear on medication abortion labels. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Globe and Mail
19-05-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Patient records should belong to patients
Here's a revolutionary idea. Patients should have access to their personal medical information by default. Not after they make a specific request for it, potentially wait up to 30 calendar days for a response and possibly pay a fee for a copy of the records, as currently set out in various iterations of rules across provinces. By default means that when you go for, say, blood work, it's guaranteed that you, along with your doctor, will get a copy of the test results for free, in a timely manner and convenient format. The fact that this is a novel concept is a problem. Canadians have right to access their medical records if they wish to, with limited exceptions, according to a 1992 Supreme Court decision. Enabling patients to see their own information, the court noted, helps to ensure 'the proper functioning of the doctor-patient relationship,' both strengthening the trust in that relationship and protecting the well-being of the patient. Yet more than three decades later, being able to exercise that right often remains unnecessarily arduous. Only four in 10 Canadians currently access their health information electronically, recent data show. And sometimes patients or their authorized caregivers must resort to filing an access to information request to get their own or their family members' full medical records. This is simply unacceptable – and a symptom of the broader issue with how Canada handles medical records. The system treats doctors and other health care providers as custodians of the patient information that they collect or receive. Sensibly, that role comes with strict obligations to protect the records to ensure patients' privacy. But there generally aren't equally strong obligations to share that information where appropriate. For example, a doctor in Alberta may face a fine of up to $200,000 for violating the province's health privacy law. But a physician faces virtually no consequence for failing to share information when needed, a recent report found. And while sharing information is easier in the digital era, this framework has bred a system in which different bits of a patient's electronic record are held by different health care providers on a multitude of platforms that often can't communicate with each other. And that's not to mention cases where information and medical images are still sent by via fax or downloaded onto a CD. This fragmentation hinders medical innovation, makes it harder to formulate health policy and creates unnecessary frustration, stress and extra work for health care providers. There can be deadly consequences for patients. An emergency room doctor may not have immediate access to the records of patients. A radiology scan showing an abnormality may not make it back to the referring physician. Ultimately, Canadians may not get the care they need. There are efforts under way to tackle the problem. Some provinces now have centralized online portals where doctors and patients can find information such as lab test results. A federal bill had proposed national standards for electronic health information systems. That bill died when Parliament was prorogued but should be revived. Those are positive steps. But as Canada works to weave a coherent system for sharing health information, it should also establish the principle that patients are entitled to access their full medical records by default. Of course, there would continue to be limited exceptions, including in rare cases in which seeing the information would risk harm to the patient or others. There should be safeguards. No one should learn they have cancer by logging into a web portal. To that end, many of the platforms already delay the release of some information to patients to give doctors a chance to disclose it first. But electronic information means doctors no longer have to make physical copies of patients' records, in most cases. It no longer makes sense that Canadians should have to ask to see their information, often chasing after different providers for various pieces of their medical history. Records should be shared with patients as a matter of course, to enable Canadians to bridge some of the information gaps in the system. Patients are the common link among all their caregivers. And they are highly motivated to make sure no information is missed. After all, it is patients' information – they have a right to it. There should be nothing revolutionary about that thought.
